That's very interesting. I remember when quads first came out a few years ago, I had this discussion with a friend of mine. He was saying that I had to try a quad because they were faster. I told him dude, that's impossible, there is literally an extra fin. Extra fin equals more drag quals slower. Anyway, a few years later, and I finally did try a quad and... yes, they are faster.
Maybe its because of how we surf a quad, we're going more down the line and not top to bottom, so maybe it just feels faster. Or... maybe its got to do with those vortices, where the back fin doesn't experience as much drag because its hiding behind the front fin and just channeling all the water down the center of the board.
But, yeah, I reckon most surfers would agree, quads are faster.
That's a good point on the perception of speed, I bet that you're right on that. I love my keel-finned fish and feel like it flies, but mostly in a straight line.
For most quad setups, that vortex that hits the trailing fin will occur at such a sharp angle of attach that the increase in drag from the front fin would most definitely be bigger than the savings of the back one going through turbulent water. I hear it around the breaks too that the quads are faster, but I'd argue that they just lead to that more linear surfing style where the board really "grips" the water because of the increased lift.
That's very interesting. I remember when quads first came out a few years ago, I had this discussion with a friend of mine. He was saying that I had to try a quad because they were faster. I told him dude, that's impossible, there is literally an extra fin. Extra fin equals more drag quals slower. Anyway, a few years later, and I finally did try a quad and... yes, they are faster.
Maybe its because of how we surf a quad, we're going more down the line and not top to bottom, so maybe it just feels faster. Or... maybe its got to do with those vortices, where the back fin doesn't experience as much drag because its hiding behind the front fin and just channeling all the water down the center of the board.
But, yeah, I reckon most surfers would agree, quads are faster.
That's a good point on the perception of speed, I bet that you're right on that. I love my keel-finned fish and feel like it flies, but mostly in a straight line.
For most quad setups, that vortex that hits the trailing fin will occur at such a sharp angle of attach that the increase in drag from the front fin would most definitely be bigger than the savings of the back one going through turbulent water. I hear it around the breaks too that the quads are faster, but I'd argue that they just lead to that more linear surfing style where the board really "grips" the water because of the increased lift.
Appreciate the comments as always, Rian!